Palin, 45, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate who has an ardent following among conservatives, had been expected to announce Friday that she would not seek re-election after her term ends in 2010. But, surrounded by her family, she blindsided even Alaska political veterans when she announced in a meandering statement that she will step down July 25 and turn over the reins to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
Although everybody and his monkey has had an instant opinion about this, I would say reactions can be boiled down thusly:
1.) she has destroyed her political career!!!!
2.) she's a genius!!! This sets her up for 2012/2016/2020/2024/etc!!!
3.) Ding! Dong! The witch is dead!
Free Will says, "You are all wrong." Here's why:
Typically for Palin, most commentary is focusing on her presentation and her "future," rather than on the substance of what she said yesterday. Well, I would challenge anyone to read this and not conclude that she is planning for her political future:
If I have learned one thing: LIFE is about choices!
And one chooses how to react to circumstances. You can choose to engage in things that tear down, or build up. I choose to work very hard on a path for fruitfulness and productivity. I choose NOT to tear down and waste precious time; but to build UP this state and our country, and her industrious, generous, patriotic, free people!
Life is too short to compromise time and resources... it may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: "Sit down and shut up", but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out. And a problem in our country today is apathy. It would be apathetic to just hunker down and "go with the flow".
Nah, only dead fish "go with the flow".
No. Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP.
And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them.
I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska - or Outside Alaska.
But I won't do it from the Governor's desk.
(snip)
In the words of General MacArthur said, "We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction."
Ok, so that's the good stuff, but yesterday was still a bad day for Gov. Palin. Simply put, resigning from office before the end of your term is never good visually. It looks like she has been hounded from office, no matter how much she might claim otherwise.
Her complaints about the frivolous ethics complaints she has faced was especially unfortunate and added to the sense that she is running away from office, rather than going on to bigger and better things. In fact, this deserves a separate post
Still, the deed is done and here we are. I sincerely hope that - having resigned - Gov. Palin can use her time wisely. What she really needs to do is to lay low for a while (I would say a year), write her book, and expand her base of knowledge. Palin's instincts are impeccable, but she needs to be able to rationalize her positions. When she is speaking about a policy area in which she is knowledgable - think energy/oil/natural gas - she is untouchable. But, ask her about issues outside her comfort zone, and she tends to start babbling platitudes, even if her immediate response is the "right" one. If Gov. Palin wants to enter national politics, she simply needs to bone up and quickly, but she can't do that in public.
I honestly don't know if Gov. Palin can be president. She's very young. She's very quirky, almost goofy. The media attacks on her children are outrageous, but they are part of the atmosphere if she decides to run for president. She needs to be able to deal with this. In fact, the entire GOP needs to figure out how to deal with this, as it is part of the Left's strategy in defeating conservative candidates. (The Letterman Affair shows the way I think. attacking the messenger can work in most cases). Until we do, Gov. Palin's efforts will take a huge emotional toll that will ultimately work against her and her ambitions.
If she runs, I will donate $$ and volunteer to help. Hers is a unique and powerful voice that should be encouraged, not slighted. But, yesterday was not a good start.
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